Place:Hougham Without, Kent, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

Hougham Without is a civil parish between Dover and Folkestone in southeast England. The main settlements are the villages of Church Hougham and West Hougham, collectively known simply as "Hougham". Great Hougham Court Farm is located to the south of the two villages, near the Dover transmitting station. The Channel Tunnel runs underground just south of West Hougham and directly under both Church Hougham and the Farm.

Hougham Without was a civil parish in Dover Rural District from 1894 until 1974 and since 1974 has been part of the non-metropolitan Dover District.

Prior to 1894 Hougham was a larger ancient and civil parish. The more urban part (Hougham Within) was absorbed into the urban district of Dover in 1894, leaving Hougham Without (the more rural part) in the surrounding rural district. The ancient parish was part of the Folkestone Hundred and also of the Bewsborough Hundred. Hougham has a number of settlements within it. See the above list.

A nineteenth century description

A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of Hougham from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:

"HOUGHAM, a village, a parish, and a [registration] sub-district, in Dover [registration] district, Kent. The village stands near the Southeastern railway, 1 mile from the coast, and 2½ WSW of Dover. The parish contains also the hamlets of Hougham-Court and West Hougham, and the western outskirts of the town of Dover; and is partly within Dover borough. Post town, Dover. Acres: 3,275; of which 280 are water. Real property, exclusive of the part within Dover borough: £3,700. Population of the whole: in 1851, 2,639; in 1861: 3,372. Houses: 389. The increase of population was caused by building operations of a Freehold Land Society, and by the opening of three new brickfields. Population of the part within Dover borough, in 1861: 2,800. Houses: 285. The Heights barracks, the Citadel Engineers' barracks, the Western Heights hospital, the Drop redoubt, the Married Soldiers' quarters, and the Kent Artillery Militia stores are here; and, at the census of 1861, they aggregately had 1,263 inmates. The property is much subdivided.

"The chapelry of Christ Church, or of Hougham-in-Dover, is within the parish; was constituted in 1844; and contained 1,803 of the population in 1861. The parochial living is a vicarage, and that of Christ Church is a [perpetual] curacy, in the diocese of Canterbury. Value of the former: £185; of the latter: not reported. Patron of the former: the Archbishop of Canterbury; of the latter: Trustees. The parochial church is early English, and has been partially restored. and enlarged. The church of Christ Church is good."

Research Tips

• Kent County Council Archive, Local Studies and Museums Service. James Whatman Way, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1LQ. This incorporates the Centre for Kentish Studies in Maidstone and the East Kent Archives Centre near Dover.
• Canterbury Cathedral Archives see the Archives web pages on the Canterbury Catherdral site.
• For information on the area around the Medway Towns, have a look at Medway Council's CityArk site.
• Ordnance Survey Maps of England and Wales - Revised: Kent illustrates the parish boundaries of Kent when rural districts were still in existence and before Greater London came into being. The map publication year is 1931. An earlier map of 1900 may also be useful. The maps blow up to show all the parishes and many of the small villages and hamlets. Maps in this series are now downloadable for personal use.
• Census records for Kent are available on FamilySearch, Ancestry and FindMyPast. The first site is free; the other two are pay sites but have access to microfilmed images. Steve Archer produced a very useful round-up of the available sources, but this information may not be up to date.
• Registration Districts in Kent for the period 1837 to the present. By drilling down through the links you can follow any parish through the registration districts to which it was attached.
• England, Kent, Parish Registers, 1538-1911 The full database from Kent Archives Office, Maidstone, has been available online from FamilySearch since June 2016.
• Kent had five family history societies (now only four):

• Kent FHS (serves the whole county)
• Folkestone & District FHS (serves the southeast corner)
• North West Kent FHS (serves the western area of present-day Kent)
• Tunbridge Wells FHS (ceased operation 31 Dec 2016; see North West Kent)
• Woolwich & District FHS (serves eastern sections of Greater London which were in Kent until 1966)

• Volume 2 of the Victoria County History of Kent (published 1926) is available online through the auspices of British History Online. It includes accounts of the early history of Canterbury and Rochester cathedrals, and of several sites now within the conurbation of London.
• Volume 3 of the Victoria County History of Kent (published 1932) This includes the text of, and the index to, the Kent Domesday survey. It has been provided by the Kent Archaeological Society.
• In place of the other volumes of the Victoria County History, British History Online has transcriptions of the numerous volumes of The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent by Edward Hasted (originally published 1797)
• English Jurisdictions 1851, a parish finding aid provided by FamilySearch, is particularly helpful in locating parishes in large ancient towns and cities like Canterbury.
• Kent Probate Records Numerous links provided by Maureen Rawson
• GENUKI lists other possible sources, however, it does not serve Kent so well as it does some other counties.